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Microsoft Corp. is working with the OPC Foundation to enable almost any IIoT scenario using interoperability between the millions of OPC UA-compliant applications and equipment. Microsoft will enable IIoT users to connect manufacturing equipment and software with extended support of OPC UA's open-source software stack. Microsoft’s extended support for OPC UA spans its IoT offerings from local connectivity with Windows devices to cloud connectivity via Microsoft Azure. Integration with Azure IoT allows customers to easily send OPC UA data to the Azure cloud, as well as command and control OPC UA devices remotely from the Azure cloud.
Pepperl+Fuchs broke ground June 2 on its new U.S. distribution and engineering center in Katy, Texas, near…

While routine build-up and clogging in process applications is annoying, process scaling is more persistent, causes unplanned downtime and increases costs in many industries. It's typically composed of calcium carbonate, wax, grease or similar…

Just as you can't have too many friends, level measurement applications can't get enough ease of use, reliability and safety. Thanks to increasing process industry needs and user demand for them, these are the three unifying priorities that drove…

Our panel of experts explore best practices for dealing with buildup on chemical seals of a differential pressure flowmeter.

Q: We have a venturi flowmeter with 3-in. flanged pressure taps and flanged chemical seals with capillary tubes in a 44-in. vertical pipe (Figure 1). The fluid is hydrocarbon (polymeric) gas. The problem is that the chemical seal diaphragms often…

A Control Design reader writes: We have several temperature, pressure and flow sensors on a new medical-device cleaning skid that we are developing. These instruments are connected to a PLC as 4-20 mA inputs, and there is also a 4-20 mA output used to control a pump motor speed. A recent failure of a flow sensor brought the process skid instrumentation to my company's quality manager's attention. He asked how we know that the temperatures, pressure and flow are accurate, and how do we know that we are cleaning properly.
I've been tasked to write a procedure for troubleshooting, calibrating and testing the 4-20 mA instruments on the skid. I can probably stumble through this, but what are some best practices for troubleshooting the analog…

Control's Monthly Resource Guide brings you the latest online resources on a variety of process control topics.

MULTI-PART WEIGHING
This four-section webpage by Omega Engineering covers "Weighing Applications," "Weighing System Design," "Installation and Calibration" and "Specialized Installations." The whole group is located at…

FOPDT model has demonstrated utility for controller tuning rules, for structuring decouplers and feedforward control algorithms.

A first-order plus deadtime (FOPDT) model is a simple approximation of the dynamic response (the transient or time-response) of a process variable to an influence. It’s also called first-order lag plus deadtime (FOLPDT), or “deadtime” may be…

'To the degree networks and standards can provide easy, consistent and seamless access to device-resident controls, the vision of truly distributed control may finally dawn upon us.'

Every compressor in the facility went down at once that day, when a PLC redundancy switchover didn’t transfer in time. The engineers didn’t know that each P453 remote I/O processor had a dip-switch-selectable timeout setting—if it didn’t…

A Control Design reader writes: We have several temperature, pressure and flow sensors on a new medical-device cleaning skid that we are developing. These instruments are connected to a PLC as 4-20 mA inputs, and there is also a 4-20 mA output used to control a pump motor speed. A recent failure of a flow sensor brought the process skid instrumentation to my company's quality manager's attention. He asked how we know that the temperatures, pressure and flow are accurate, and how do we know that we are cleaning properly.
I've been tasked to write a procedure for troubleshooting, calibrating and testing the 4-20 mA instruments on the skid. I can probably stumble through this, but what are some best practices for troubleshooting the analog…

Most public utilities deliver basic power and water, and God bless them for doing it. However, a few go beyond their essential missions, and seek to further enhance the overall well-being and prosperity of their communities.
One of these is…

Advanced control on fuel and steam can control emissions while saving millions.

It’s no secret that advanced process control (APC) has played a major role in the process industries for many decades. However, while many organizations focus only on major process units, there’s often an untapped opportunity to do more, and…

Our readers tell us who they think delivers the best technology in our industry

There's knowledge in our readers. That's why every year we ask our loyal audience to help us determine which automation service providers offer the best products and brands they can rely on to get the best combination of performance, ease of use,…

Just when it seems like today’s sophisticated motors and drives can’t possibly add more efficiencies and capabilities, engineers conjure up new tricks and refinements, followed by end users and system integrators who materialize new settings and…

Control's monthly guide brings you invaluable industry information to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments.

THE CLASSIC VALVE BOOK
The fourth edition of the 295-page classic text, "Control Valve Handbook," by Fisher Controls International and Emerson Process Management reports this classic text has been a primary reference since its first printing in1965.

Control's monthly guide brings you invaluable industry information to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments.

THE CLASSIC VALVE BOOK
The fourth edition of the 295-page classic text, "Control Valve Handbook," by Fisher Controls International and Emerson Process Management reports this classic text has been a primary reference since its first printing in1965.

Just when it seems like today’s sophisticated motors and drives can’t possibly add more efficiencies and capabilities, engineers conjure up new tricks and refinements, followed by end users and system integrators who materialize new settings and…

Actionable information is essential for the effectiveness of the 'loop,' as it is for closed-loop control and open-loop alarms.

When I sat down in my office this morning, I was greeted by the operations manager, who pointed out an entry from last night’s operations log: “Did you see? The boiler steam vent is in manual because the pressure reading whacked out and made the…

Actionable information is essential for the effectiveness of the 'loop,' as it is for closed-loop control and open-loop alarms.

When I sat down in my office this morning, I was greeted by the operations manager, who pointed out an entry from last night’s operations log: “Did you see? The boiler steam vent is in manual because the pressure reading whacked out and made the…

Actionable information is essential for the effectiveness of the 'loop,' as it is for closed-loop control and open-loop alarms.

When I sat down in my office this morning, I was greeted by the operations manager, who pointed out an entry from last night’s operations log: “Did you see? The boiler steam vent is in manual because the pressure reading whacked out and made the…

Our readers tell us who they think delivers the best technology in our industry

There's knowledge in our readers. That's why every year we ask our loyal audience to help us determine which automation service providers offer the best products and brands they can rely on to get the best combination of performance, ease of use,…

Visualizing and contextualizing safety data can have a positive impact on productivity and compliance.

"Information is one thing, but safety information is quite another," says George Schuster. He should know. He’s charged with business development for the Global Safety Team of Rockwell Automation and has seen many plants and factories begin to…

How to deal with the constraints of putting access points in hazardous areas.

In an ideal world, it wouldn’t be necessary to worry about explosive atmospheres. Unfortunately, plant environments are far from ideal, with most process plants being about 80% Class I, Div. 2 (Zone 2) and another 10% Class I Div. 1 (Zone 1), so…

Key is to learn as much as possible to make digital technologies safe, secure and successful in process settings.

As usual, and I’m sure this is true for many of you, this year’s autumn season has been a frantic dash of work, deadlines, sleep deprivation, indigestion and suspiciously arthritic stiffness. In my case, this means covering all sides of the…

With today’s network technology, even Ethernet and wireless are almost always fast enough.

As automation professionals, one issue we have about control loops is ensuring we're able to support real-time control. Historically, when Ethernet was 10 MB/s and there were multiple drops on a single port, collisions were a significant concern and…

With today’s network technology, even Ethernet and wireless are almost always fast enough.

As automation professionals, one issue we have about control loops is ensuring we're able to support real-time control. Historically, when Ethernet was 10 MB/s and there were multiple drops on a single port, collisions were a significant concern and…

Because they're the crossroads, nexus and Grand Central Station for sensor signals and data arriving and requests and actuation instructions departing, it's a big help that I/O and terminal blocks are more flexible and capable than ever.

Compact, Remote I/O for Zone 2/Div 2
LB System remote I/O has more power in less space with high-performance, compact modules plugged into a backplane. Energy-saving power management and low-power dissipation allow maximum packing density. With the…

Be just 33 seconds more productive each hour, and the savings mount quickly.

Rockwell Automation previewed its new, forward-looking App Platform for mobility at this week’s TechED conference in Orlando. While focused first on redefining smartphone use on the plant floor – with the aim of making individual workers more…

Control’s latest State of Technology report delves into the many aspects of power systems of interest in process plants.

From sourcing and ensuring uninterrupted flows of clean electricity to monitoring, regulating and metering generation and consumption throughout a facility, process automation professionals who want a smooth-running, efficient and reliable facility are well advised to seek and control power.
This anthology of recent articles delves into the many aspects of power systems of interest in process plants. Remote and wireless systems are speeding development and standardization of energy harvesting and improved battery systems.
Line-powered supplies that used to only transform electricity and maybe offer surge protection are now monitoring and measuring current and voltage profiles, implementing alerts and alarms, and sending data up to…

Greg: Here we take advantage of the chance to talk to Bill Thomas, who provides a great lesson of how to succeed in advancing capabilities and opportunities in his career and the control systems for which he was responsible. His career and the…

Control's monthly guide brings you invaluable industry information to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments.

AT THEIR BEST, ALL THE TIME
ExperTune’s white paper, “How to Improve Performance of Process Control Assets,” by George Buckbee, P.E., describes the practice of real-time asset performance management, shows how to get assets to perform at their best all the time, and demonstrates the value of integrating these tools for a performance picture that delivers financial results. It’s available here.
ISA / www.isa.org
ANALYZING, PREDICTING PROBLEMS
This 57-minute video, “Avoid Equipment Surprises: Predictive Diagnostics for Oil & Gas,” is presented by Joe Dupree, GE Automation and Controls, and users from NiSource Gas and Alyeska. They demonstrate condition-based monitoring, predictive analytics and other tools for evaluating…

Steve Christian remembers the days—not too long ago—when production schedules were printed on sheets of paper and distributed to operators at his plant, who would manually twist valve handles to send the Ragu sauce tomato slurry from one kettle…

Advanced control on fuel and steam can control emissions while saving millions.

It’s no secret that advanced process control (APC) has played a major role in the process industries for many decades. However, while many organizations focus only on major process units, there’s often an untapped opportunity to do more, and…

Find and slay the dragons lurking in the typical safety instrumented system.

Cybersecurity is a growing concern in the process industries, and a number of good articles have been written about it for industrial control systems (ICS)—many full of doom and gloom. Here, we will divide the ICS into two parts: safety…

Big data can only help users if they understand what it is, how it can affect their controls and processes, and how they can use it to optimize operations.

Similar to any new technology emerging on the process control front, big data can only help users make better decisions if they understand what it is, how it can affect their controls and processes, and how they can use it to optimize operations.

Our readers tell us who they think delivers the best technology in our industry

There's knowledge in our readers. That's why every year we ask our loyal audience to help us determine which automation service providers offer the best products and brands they can rely on to get the best combination of performance, ease of use,…

HMI software takes on more responsibility

HMI is not just an operator interface any more. In fact, these days OI is probably the least of its functions. CONTROL Senior Technical Editor Rich Merritt provides a Product Roundup of new HMI devices.

It used to be, youd buy a human-machine interface (HMI) just to get an operator interface (OI); that is, a device that lets you look into the process to see what was going on, and adjust or control what you saw. Such plain-vanilla OIs are certainly still available, but the overall roles of HMIs are changing.

Today, HMIs are taking over control, data acquisition, web access, maintenance, diagnostics and enterprise functions. The OI function remains, of course, but telling an operator what is going on seems to be the least of an HMIs many tasks.

Virtually all desktop and panel HMIs are now based on a PC architecture and run some version of Windows. A certain number of handheld and PDA-based HMIs are also appearing and, while all are not Windows-based, the ones we see are compatible with the Windows architecture.

The big iron HMIs can be extremely powerful PCs, capable of running just about any kind of control, data acquisition, and SCADA software package. Many HMIs serve as the gateway between a process control system and its process historian, ERP, supply chain, and other higher-level software packages. That is, they gather the data from plant floor equipment, put it into XML or some other common database format, and ship it off to the enterprise software in a timely fashion. Some HMIs are powerful enough to host enterprise software.

HMIs can also be extremely tiny, embedded, diskless processors that can operate inside equipment and instrumentation. When equipped with an embedded Windows operating system, such as Windows CE, the embedded systems provide many of the functions of the big iron systems.

HMIs big and small also serve as the gateway to the Web for many process control systems. The HMI hosts the necessary web servers that allow remote PCs or HMIs to access Web pages via the Internet. Web access lets an instrument engineer be paged at home, receive an e-mail that says there is a problem at the plant, find out what is going on via a home PCs web browser, and make the necessary setpoint changes at 3:00 a.m., all without having to run into the plant.

Venture Development (www.vdc-corp.com) says that browser-based terminals are gaining in popularity for several reasons, not the least of which is reduced operating costs. Many HMI vendors have a per-seat charge, where you pay thousands of dollars for the original HMI/SCADA software, and then pay for every additional terminal or seat onto which the software is loaded. With a browser-based system, you still pay thousands of dollars for the original software, but you can eliminate per-seat charges by using browsers to view the display screens.

Over on the accounting side of your business, the IT folks are probably looking into hosted software, such as CRM or CAD. In this case, the CRM software runs on the vendors server somewhere, the IT people gain access to it from a browser, and they pay only for what they use. Such capability will be coming to process control one of these days, but we see no evidence of it yet. We suspect that HMIs will be the first to use a hosted system, because HMI software vendors are always way out in front of everybody else in the control business.

The new breed of HMI/SCADA systems are selling fast. ARC Research (www.arcweb.com) says the HMI software market will reach $559 million by 2008, an annual rate of 5%. Thats faster than the overall automation market. HMI and related software has become a critical component in the infrastructure for successfully managing manufacturing operations, says ARCs research director, Craig Resnick.

In the roundup that follows, we have examples of HMIs performing all of the above-noted functions. This roundup also kicks off a new capability here at CONTROL magazine: the marriage of print and web. If the writeup indicates that more product details are available at ControlGlobal.com, we mean it.

For example, we provide additional product information on our site. Just like the brief product writeups, we take additional information from the vendor, edit out all the product managers superfluous comments and the vendors unsupported claims, and provide you just with additional facts.

Also, instead of just giving you the vendors web site address, we provide links to the vendors product literature whenever possible. This means you will be able to click directly to the products data sheet or brochure without having to hunt it down on the vendor web site or fill out those tedious qualification forms.

Let us know if this works for you, and tell us what else we can do to improve future product writeups.

PRODUCT ROUND-UP:HMI DevicesFor more information about any of these products, click on the description of the product below to view a longer description and all contact information, including phone numbers, e-mail addresses, websites, and a photo where available.

Attack of the Clones Propagates IconsVersion 9.0 of InTouch HMI with SmartSymbol graphics allows changes made to templates to automatically propagate throughout an application, including across multiple networked PC nodes. In addition, users can run a script function called IOSetRemoteReferences to modify the data source for ArchestrA Objects or InTouch tag references at runtime. This enables developers to switch object instances for graphic symbols based on particular conditions or directly via user interaction such as clicking a button. Wonderware

Even an HMI Cant Be Too ThinThe Magelis Smart iPC thin client for Ethernet architectures measures just 67mm deep and high, and can be bundled with Telemecanique Vijeo Look SCADA software to create an HMI. It also works with the companys Transparent Readyweb-based display for real-time data visualization using a web browser, and FactoryCast applets for real time data monitoring. The system conforms to UL508, CSA, and CE, and is rated Class 1, Div. 2 for use in hazardous environments. Schneider Electric

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